Paper Mache Piñata

The mixture for the paste is 1:1 flower and water but make sure you squeeze of any extra paste otherwise it will take forever to dry.  There are other recipes out there that involve past but I didn’t think that would be fun to get all over.

I used hand torn strips of paper bag with paper on the outside. You could start with pre-cut strips of newspaper and it might dry faster. The Internet suggested using white paper for the outside if you are going to paint it.

Warning: This is a very messy project and you should put down a tarp and set up clear expectations first.

Procedure:

I started with a 20-inch balloon and tied a string around it a couple of times so I would have something to hang it from. Then I mixed the paste and started ripping stripes of paper. I had to mix several batches of paste because I kept running out. I also used a pie pan as a place to hold the paste I was using so I could completely immerse the stripes. Hindsight says squeeze off any excess but this might result in falling apart later. You might also not need to put as many layers on as I did. I put two layers of thick newspaper and craft paper. If you have a place to hang dry, test weather or not the string will hold it all together before it is dry. I set my on a Tupperware container and rotated once a day. It took me three days to dry so if these are for an event plan ahead.

Weather you are going to paint them or not you can add legs, tails, ears and anything else that is appropriate before it drys